At this year’s Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH), Finance Minister Heng Swee Keng announced a new international entrepreneurship internship initiative for local students, launched by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB).

It is linked to the Global Innovation Alliance, a local programme that helps Singapore businesses reach international markets.

Called the Global Innovation Alliance Innovators Academy, the programme will send Singapore students abroad for internships at startups or companies that undertake entrepreneurship and innovation.

The academy will facilitate overseas internships in 17 cities for more than 1,300 students from the autonomous universities over the next few years.

The programme is open to all autonomous university students via partnerships with National University Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Management University, and Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

Other autonomous university students can participate via Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

The programme will also include funding for the students as well, to ensure that financial difficulties will not impede students to pass on this opportunity.

Following this initiative, Singapore Management University (SMU) has signed a partnership with QBO – a Filipino innovation hub – to help facilitate the transfer of SMU students to the Philippines to work in local startups.

“By exposing Singapore students to a diverse range of innovation ecosystems abroad, the Innovators Academy hopes to groom future innovators and business leaders with a global perspective,” said Minister Heng in a speech.

The goal is to groom the future entrepreneurs that will help Singapore grow into a global innovation hub.

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